'Carrotmob' at Jongo Java spurs green improvements

Daniel Smith, co-owner of Jongo Java, pours Christine Boush, who is taking part in a Carrotmob, some coffee on Thursday. The Environmental and Conservation Organization helped to organize a Carrotmob at the coffee house on Main Street. Profits from the event will go to help the business buy energy efficient LED lights.

MIKE DIRKS/TIMES-NEWS

By Beth BeasleyTimes-News correspondent

Published: Friday, November 16, 2012 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, November 15, 2012 at 5:37 p.m.

The carrot ginger soup ran low sooner than expected at Hendersonville’s first carrotmob, held Thursday at Jongo Java.

Lines were long to buy lunch and coffee drinks at the South Main Street coffee house, which promised to use 75 percent of the afternoon’s profits toward installing energy efficient lighting.

“Carrotmobbing is a great example of how we can solve our problems if we’re creative,” said David Weintraub, executive director of the Environmental & Conservation Organization.

The carrotmob is not only the first of its kind in Hendersonville, it is the first in North Carolina, according to Kelly Zehrung, an ECO intern who organized the event.

The idea is to generate a financial boost for a business thanks to a crowd of people “mobbing” it during certain hours. In exchange, the business uses most or all of the proceeds to make green improvements.

“Carrotmobbing is thought of as kind of the opposite of a boycott,” said Zehrung. “It’s about giving support to a business, to do something good.”

She emphasized that unlike a flash mob, there is no dancing involved.

“All you have to do is what you normally would when you go out to a restaurant,” said Zehrung.

A human-size carrot at the door and special coupons for writing down purchase amounts helped patrons get in carrotmob mode. Dan Smith of Jongo Java wore an orange T-shirt in the spirit of carrotmobbing.

Smith, along with co-owner Jamie Tanner and their staff, were hopping around trying to serve the crowd, which was “Apple Festival busy.”

“It was amazingly successful,” said Smith, who had double the normal amount stocked in order to prepare for the day.

“It’s super encouraging that there’s so many people out there supporting this kind of thing,” Smith added. “Kudos to ECO for doing this and for including us.”

Carrotmobs have been happening in the U.S. and internationally — from Thailand to a number of European countries — since 2008. The idea is to attract community members to businesses who would like to make improvements related to energy efficiency and environmental health — a kind of “carrot” in front of a “stick.”

More than 250 small community campaigns such as Jongo Java’s have directed funds to spearhead upgrades like energy retrofits and buying solar panels.

For Jongo Java, the plan is to replace mercury-based compact fluorescents with mercury-free bulbs and replace halogen spotlights with ultra-efficient LED lighting.

“It’s a very simple idea: the community mobilizing to help each other,” Weintraub said. “Jongo Java has stepped forward to say ‘we don’t want to blow up mountains to light our business.’”

Jongo Java, which “jumped” at the chance to be Carrotmobbed, made a nice fit for the event, as it was the first business to win ECO’s first Environmental Stewardship award, in 2011, said Zehrung.

Consumer-driven change

Stephanie Kompathoum, volunteer coordinator at Housing Assistance, was one of many who planned in advance to join the carrotmob at Jongo Java.

“I think of it as ‘pre-warding’ a business — a kind of awarding, but in advance,” said Kompathoum, who enjoyed a wrap for lunch. “I want to support a green initiative and a local business, and it’s a good chance to be social as well.”

Brooke Audreyal invited numerous friends to the coffee house for lunch for a “Peace and Greens” celebration in conjunction with the carrotmob.

“This is a grassroots movement of people voting with their dollars and encouraging businesses to become more green,” said Audreyal.

She recognizes the connection between the success of downtown businesses and tourism dollars and the general economic health of Hendersonville.

“People that came to this are part of a historic movement and a growing trend for Main Street to green up,” said Audreyal. “It’s already happening, and it’s just beautiful.”

George Tregay, of ECO’s energy committee, noted that Main Street’s recent upgrades included LED street lighting, thanks in part to grants received for that city project.

Plans for the next few carrotmobs are already in formation, mostly at downtown businesses. On Dec. 5, the Dugout will host a carrotmob, for which they are pledging to change their take-out containers from styrofoam to biodegradable packaging.

<p>The carrot ginger soup ran low sooner than expected at Hendersonville's first carrotmob, held Thursday at Jongo Java.</p><p>Lines were long to buy lunch and coffee drinks at the South Main Street coffee house, which promised to use 75 percent of the afternoon's profits toward installing energy efficient lighting.</p><p>“Carrotmobbing is a great example of how we can solve our problems if we're creative,” said David Weintraub, executive director of the Environmental & Conservation Organization. </p><p>The carrotmob is not only the first of its kind in Hendersonville, it is the first in North Carolina, according to Kelly Zehrung, an ECO intern who organized the event.</p><p>The idea is to generate a financial boost for a business thanks to a crowd of people “mobbing” it during certain hours. In exchange, the business uses most or all of the proceeds to make green improvements. </p><p>“Carrotmobbing is thought of as kind of the opposite of a boycott,” said Zehrung. “It's about giving support to a business, to do something good.”</p><p>She emphasized that unlike a flash mob, there is no dancing involved.</p><p>“All you have to do is what you normally would when you go out to a restaurant,” said Zehrung.</p><p>A human-size carrot at the door and special coupons for writing down purchase amounts helped patrons get in carrotmob mode. Dan Smith of Jongo Java wore an orange T-shirt in the spirit of carrotmobbing. </p><p>Smith, along with co-owner Jamie Tanner and their staff, were hopping around trying to serve the crowd, which was “Apple Festival busy.”</p><p>“It was amazingly successful,” said Smith, who had double the normal amount stocked in order to prepare for the day.</p><p>“It's super encouraging that there's so many people out there supporting this kind of thing,” Smith added. “Kudos to ECO for doing this and for including us.”</p><p>Carrotmobs have been happening in the U.S. and internationally — from Thailand to a number of European countries — since 2008. The idea is to attract community members to businesses who would like to make improvements related to energy efficiency and environmental health — a kind of “carrot” in front of a “stick.”</p><p>More than 250 small community campaigns such as Jongo Java's have directed funds to spearhead upgrades like energy retrofits and buying solar panels. </p><p>For Jongo Java, the plan is to replace mercury-based compact fluorescents with mercury-free bulbs and replace halogen spotlights with ultra-efficient LED lighting.</p><p>“It's a very simple idea: the community mobilizing to help each other,” Weintraub said. “Jongo Java has stepped forward to say 'we don't want to blow up mountains to light our business.'” </p><p>Jongo Java, which “jumped” at the chance to be Carrotmobbed, made a nice fit for the event, as it was the first business to win ECO's first Environmental Stewardship award, in 2011, said Zehrung. </p><p>Consumer-driven change</p><p>Stephanie Kompathoum, volunteer coordinator at Housing Assistance, was one of many who planned in advance to join the carrotmob at Jongo Java.</p><p>“I think of it as 'pre-warding' a business — a kind of awarding, but in advance,” said Kompathoum, who enjoyed a wrap for lunch. “I want to support a green initiative and a local business, and it's a good chance to be social as well.”</p><p>Brooke Audreyal invited numerous friends to the coffee house for lunch for a “Peace and Greens” celebration in conjunction with the carrotmob.</p><p>“This is a grassroots movement of people voting with their dollars and encouraging businesses to become more green,” said Audreyal. </p><p>She recognizes the connection between the success of downtown businesses and tourism dollars and the general economic health of Hendersonville.</p><p>“People that came to this are part of a historic movement and a growing trend for Main Street to green up,” said Audreyal. “It's already happening, and it's just beautiful.”</p><p>George Tregay, of ECO's energy committee, noted that Main Street's recent upgrades included LED street lighting, thanks in part to grants received for that city project. </p><p>Plans for the next few carrotmobs are already in formation, mostly at downtown businesses. On Dec. 5, the Dugout will host a carrotmob, for which they are pledging to change their take-out containers from styrofoam to biodegradable packaging.</p><p>For more information on Carrotmobbing, visit www.carrotmob.org.</p>